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Thursday, June 30, 2011

I was checking in at the Nashville airport, and when the lady at the front desk leaned down to put the bag tag on my guitar case, she saw the Thistle Farms sticker on there...and she shouted "THISTLE FARMS!!!! Are you affiliated with them???" I told her I'm a musician and I do what I can to promote the organization, talk about it on the radio, etc....and she almost started crying!! She kept thanking me profusely. And then one of her coworkers came over and told her she'd better hurry up and process my bag because of the long lineup behind me. But she kept thanking me over and over again even when I was walking away. So sweet!!! Not sure if she had a personal history with the organization or not - I would suspect so, with a reaction that powerful. It was a pretty cool moment.

Victoria (pictured above at Thistle Farms with Tammy, Cynthia, Valerie, Victoria's manager - Kate and Tracey) is the Canadian Country Music Awards 2010 Female Artist & Songwriter of the Year. You can also see her support women's freedom by painting her nails purple (using our Sandal Survival Kit) on our Facebook page.

Monday, June 27, 2011

It started with providing lunches for the women at Thistle Farms and has turned into chairing the Fall Fundraisers and introducing the Mayor at receptions. Meet Kay, A Thistle Farmer, and supporter of our 10 Year Anniversary.

Friday, June 24, 2011

One of our favorite parts of hand making and selling good-for-you-and-for-us products is hearing your reactions to them. We like to share this with our other friends in a blog feature we call TESTIMONIAL! If you have tried out one of our products, visited the store, seen Thistle Farms featured in any publication or just want to let the world know how much you love Thistle Farms' products, we want to hear about it.

Today's TESTIMONIAL! comes from a letter written by the Robins class from Montessori Centre.

Dear Friends at Thistle Farms,

We are the Robins Class from Montessori Centre. Some of us are 4 years old and some of us are 5 (or 5 1/2!).

Every day at rest time, we like to use the Lavender Body Balm to help us calm down. We think it smells like lemon and grape and peach and sunflowers. We learned that lavender flowers come from France. We also learned about the Magdalene house and the work you do at Thistle Farms. We love the lavender and we wanted to thank you for making it.

We love you!

You never know where a TESTIMONIAL! is going to come from. Thank you Addie, Mahoney, Brooks, Keelan Grace, Lauren, Autumn, Trevor and Luke. We love you too!

To smell our delicious body balm yourself, go to our online store. If you have a TESTIMONIAL! you'd like to share with us, email carolyn@thistlefarms.org and tell us your story!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

10 years ago, Valerie was on the streets and in jail. Today, she is the Shipping Manager for Thistle Farms and is one of the more established members in the community that new women turn to for advice. In conjunction with our 10 Year Anniversary, meet Valerie.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Want to support women's freedom with an outward, visible (and fashionable) sign? Paint your nails purple for women's freedom! In conjunction with our 10 Year Anniversary celebration, we are asking friends to paint their nails purple (with polish from our Sandal Survival Kit), snap a picture and send it to us. We hope to create a collage of fingers and toes from around the world, showing support and solidarity to an important cause.

STEP 2: Paint your nails purple with the No Miss Las Olas Lily polish found in the kit. (It's helpful to paint with a friend too!)

STEP 3: Snap a photo of your fabulous nails (both fingers and toes are welcome!) and post them on the Thistle Farms' Facebook wall or email to purplenails@thistlefarms.org. Make sure you tell us your first name & where you're from so we can add you to our Purple Nails photo album.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Becca Stevens founded the Magdalene program in 1997 and started the cottage industry, Thistle Farms, in 2001, so the women of Magdalene would have a place to work. Here, Becca talks about how a social enterprise is started and describes the intricate beauty of her favorite Thistle Farms' product, the healing oils. Another part of our video series, I Am A Thistle Farmer, as part of our 10 Year Anniversary celebration.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Come get a tour, meet the women, paint your nails purple (we'll provide the nail polish), eat refreshments provided by the Men's Group of St. Paul's in Franklin and Colt's Chocolates...and stock up on Thistle Farms products! Here is the schedule:

3:00 RECEPTION AND TOURS

4:00 ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM WITH MAYOR KARL DEAN

4:30 HEALING GARDEN TOUR AND CELEBRATION

A TV production team will be on hand taping for a documentary series, Turning Point - a new series to air this fall on PBS.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Meet Yolanda, one of our community's newest members. Yolanda works in the shipping department and has one year clean. We are so proud of her and how far she's come on her journey. Hear first hand how love heals as we continue to celebrate our 10 Year Anniversary.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

We've talked before about the why we chose the thistle for our company name. Thistles grow on the streets and alleys where the women of Thistle Farms walked. Considered a weed, they have a deep tap root that can shoot through thick concrete and survive drought. And in spite of their prickly appearance, their royal, soft purple center makes the thistle a mysterious and gorgeous flower.

We rely on friends and supporters to let us know where they find thistles (scouting) and bringing them to us (harvesting) so we can continue making beautiful handmade paper for our healing oils and new line of greeting cards.

Alex, a Thistle Farmer, shares a story of her latest adventures in harvesting thistles:

On my nightly ritual of stopping on the way home to pick thistles, what a delight to have a policeman stop. My first reaction was panic and paranoia at being parked on the sidewalk picking wildflowers. When I told him what I was doing and did he know about Thistle Farms ....he said "yes," gave a huge smile and just said, "be careful." When I followed with "thank you for not giving me a ticket," he responded "never!" Interesting of all the people who have stopped to see if I was OK on these endeavors, the first to know of Thistle Farms was a policeman. Something's working!!!

But how, exactly, do you harvest thistles? Watch our Harvesting Thistles How-To Video Guide below to see just how easy it is. Plus, if you spot any thistles in your daily travels, you can post them on our Thistle Farms & Magdalene Volunteers Facebook page.

Being a Thistle Farmer means the world is our farm. Harvesting thistles is a way of walking in the world and choosing to love the parts of creation that others have forgotten or condemned.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Week 2 of our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration provides an easy, fun & FREE way for you to help spread the word about Thistle Farms and our mission to provide education and training to 10 new women this year.

Monday, June 6, 2011

We continue to celebrate our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration by introducing another Thistle Farmer: John. Yes, it's true -- men can be Thistle Farmers too! Hear about John's involvement in the community through his work at Belmont and find out what he's learned from the women in the program.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Jordan, Amy and I are getting ready to present at this gathering. It's the moment before we begin to make friends with people we have never met. We have done all our work to prepare, we have made tons of products, I've written a talk about who we are and how we fit into their vision of growing faith, and the table is set. Now we are just sitting and waiting as the business part of the gathering unfolds.

The time before is always full of anticipation--- when I second guess myself, the work, and if it will be okay. I bet I have sat in this space a thousand times, but still the worry that it won't go well rises in my chest and I feel worried that I might let the community down. "What if it doesn't go well? What if we come all this way and sell just a few hundred dollars?" There are another few questions like this that pop into my head. "That never happens," I remind myself. "Carole, Tim and Holli will be fine with us no matter what." If I worry about this, Jordan and Amy must feel the same way.

I remember, sitting in the back, that I have prayer. It is honestly the only thing that helps me before it all unfolds. And here is mine:

Please let me get out of the way.

Remove all my old ego stuff.

Let me make this day an offering and be open to the spirit moving---in my talk, in my conversations, and in my heart.

Forgive me all my impatience and worry.

Thank you for loving all of us.

Thank you for this chance to make new friends and for the work of Thistle Farms.

Amen.

Becca Stevens is today's keynote speaker at theNebraska Synod Assembly in Fremont, NE. With her are Thistle Farmers Jordan and Amy.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

During our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration, we will feature 10 people in our community in our video series: "I Am A Thistle Farmer." In this episode, meet Phyllis, a sales & marketing representative at Thistle Farms. Learn about Thistle Farms' humble beginnings and hear the most important principal Phyllis has learned while working at Thistle Farms.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Over the past 10 years, Thistle Farms has grown from a line of two products made by four women in a church kitchen, to a company housed in an 11,000 square foot manufacturing and sales facility that employs 32 women and has a line of over 20 products. Over 100 women have been trained and employed over the past decade. Our products are available in 140 stores across the country, including a number of Whole Food stores.

In honor of our 10th year anniversary, the month of June is dedicated to promoting and celebrating our community. By helping raise money and awareness, we can keep our doors open and bring new women off the streets and into sanctuary.

Through word of mouth and social media (this blog, our Facebook page & Twitter account), we will offer a new way each week for our friends to help. We will also introduce 10 Thistle Farmers -- videos of members of our community, talking about where they were 10 years ago and what Thistle Farms means to them.

Here is our first week's (and throughout the month of June) request:

WEEK 1:

Raise $10,000 to provide education and training for 10 new women beginning work - and a new way of life - at Thistle Farms.